The Orc and the Cat
by Nodam
Summary: After the battle for Riverwood and the death of his older brother, Gruickshak the orc has become a hermit in the mountains, living off the land with his dog Barney. However, an impending danger forces him to work alongside an unlikely ally to stop an ancient monster who wants back what was stolen from it. NOTE: This is a sequel to my previous story the Orc and the Axe.
1. Chapter 1: Of Corn and Dogs

The vicious winter wind whipped at the figure who walked across the mountainside. It was a large man, if it was a man at all. He was wrapped in a thick mammoth-fur coat, which was now coated in a thin layer of ice. With one arm he held an adult buck over his left shoulder, and in the other hand he held a grey-blue battle axe, crafted from the bones of an ancient dragon. He trudged through the snow towards a cabin, almost buried underneath the sleet. As he approached it, he could hear a loud barking noise coming from within the cabin. He arrived at the wooden shack, and tossed the snow out of the way of the oak door so that he could open it. Inside was a roaring fire, a wooden table with a stool, a cot with fur blankets, and a very happy dog. The dog ran up to him as he walked in, nipping at the deer he held above his head.

"Not yet Barney, I have to cook it first." he said as he removed his hood. The man underneath the hood was not a man at all, but an orc, two great tusks protruding from his mouth and another thick layer of fur covering his face. He lay the deer down on the table, which buckled under its weight. "I'll be right back Barney, I'm going to check on the crops first." he said as he put his hood back up and headed out the door. He wandered over to a mound of snow where he had planted a corn seed many months back. "Still not growing, eh?" he said to himself. "I'll need to buy some more fertili-tilizer next time I go into town." He shrugged in dissapointment and went back into the cabin, where Barney was now digging into the deer. He grabbed the deer and put it in front of the fire, and looked at the dog with a stern face. "I told you, it has to be cooked first. Don't be surprised if you get a belly-hurt."

After letting the deer cook, he ripped its leg off and brought it to the table. He folded his hands and closed his eyes, and said his dinner time prayers. "Thank you deer god for giving me the deer, thank you fire god for making it warm, and thank you Barney god for giving me Barney." He then sunk his teeth into the deer and tore away at its crispy, but still very raw flesh. As he ate, he watched admiringly at his dog who was now chewing on a bone. Barney was the nickname he gave the dog back when he met him on the road. He was traveling back from the town after buying a single corn seed from a very confused farmer when he saw a shaggy little mutt running towards him. The dog stood in front of him, his tounge hanging out and his tail wagging. The orc knelt down, pet the mutt on his head and asked his what his name was. The dog replied "My name is Barbas." He didn't think anything of it at first, and the dog followed him home, but he was now starting to wonder why the dog hadn't said anything since. If it was going to be a magic dog, it should always talk, not say one thing and never speak again. Nevertheless, he found Barbas too confusing of a name, so he called it Barney, and Barney didn't say anything to protest, so he figured the dog was fine with it.

After he had eaten his fill, which was the entire deer (minus the part Barney took), the orc moved a pile of furs over to his bedside and Barney lay down in it, cozy and warm next to the fire. The orc set out his blanket on his bed, and lay down in it. After a crack, snap and a thump, the bed hit the floor, along with the orcs very heavy back. Barney didn't blink an eye, as the orc looked around at the pile of wood that was his bed. "Ugh , not again." he said. "I'll fix it in the morning." He reached over to the pup and scrathed it behnd the ears. "G'night Barney." he said as he rolled over to face the wall, fallng asleep almost instantly.

"G'night Gruickshak." Barney said, very softly.


	2. Chapter 2: Of Cats and Keys

The Riften guards combed the streets searching for the Khajiit that had just robbed the Jarl's treasury. The Khajiit, Sudeiros, or Sud for anyone who wasn't Khajiit, crouched, carefully balanced on a beam that supported one of the bridges that crossed the canal. He could hear the guards running across the wood above him, and he waited in the shadows until the commotion had died down.

The heist hadn't quite gone as expected, but Sud supposed that was bound to happen to a thief trying to live in the same city as the Thieves Guild. He had snuck into the Mistveil keep somewhat successfully, only drawing the attention of one guard before throwing him off the trail (and the balcony) as he snuck into the treasury. The door was unlocked, to his surprise. The just pushed the door and it opened, the rusty hinges creaking. A shadowy figure was crouched over in the room, their body covered in a black robe. Gloved hands furiously stuffed gold and other treasures into a leather sack, and they were so busy that they hadn't yet noticed Sud, crouched in the only entry and only exit to the room. That was until he began to slowly slide his iron sword from its sheath, the noise from that being enough to get the attention of the figure in the room. They looked up, and Sud saw a female face, her nose and mouth covered by a black scarf. Sapphire eyes stared at him, and he stared back with his green cat eyes. In one quick movement, the woman leapt up in the air, above Suds head, and out the door. She made a tremendous amount of noise as she sprinted down the hallway, Sud following in hot pursuit. She had run down a dead end hallway, the only exit being a small window that had had it's glass carefully removed by an expert thief. Sud was so close behind her he could hear her heartbeat as he chased her across the keep. The thief slung the bag over her shoulder, and gracefully leapt out the window, contortioning her body to fit through the small gap. However, Sud was also extremely agile, and he leapt after her, reaching out with his hands, his claws coming out of their sheaths. He grabbed the sack and was tore a hole in it big enough for a few coins to slide out before the thief was out the window. He ran to the window and looked out, but she was gone, leapt into the canal, not even a ripple to say she was there. Sud scraped together the few coins that had fallen out of the bag, not even twenty septims. There was something else that caught his eye though: a key, no larger than Suds finger, ornately carved from blue-stained bone. Instead of notches at the end of the key, it has a small, round carved skull. Sud wondered how a key like this could work, but he didn't have much time to think about it. Four Riften guards ran down the hallway after him, brandishing swords, shields and axes. He looked at the open window, but realized that he would not be able to fit, even with his catlike agility. He drew his sword, and sprinted head on towards the guards, who slowed down in confusion. Sud slid underneath guards, slicing their ankles as he did, and two of the guards fell to the ground in agony. The other two spun around and gave chase to the Khajiit who was now running in the opposite direction. Sud felt a handaxe whiz by his head and saw it land it the wall in front of him. He turned the corner and ran down a short flight of steps, reaching the Keeps main entrance. His night vision let him see out the window to the guards positioned outside the keep, their bows pointed at the door. The two guards chasing him had come down the stairs now and charged towards him. With an elegant twirl he cut the throat of one of the guards, slipping his sword underneath the leather flap on his helmet. The other guard lobbed his handaxe at Sud, who acted fast enough to catch the handle, and with a twirl of his fingers, threw it right back. The axe split the guards helmet in two, and blood poured out from underneath his mask as he stumbled backwards and crashed into the Jarls throne.

The guards outside stormed through the entrance, their bows drawn and the swords ready. But what they weren't ready for were the four blindpots hidden around the room. With a flash, a blinding white light enveloped the room and the guards fell to their knees, while Sudeiros was already long gone into the night. It was then when he would seek refuge under the bridge, examining the strange key and wondering who it was that he had encountered in the keep that night...

Dawn rose on Skyrim, and the snow on the mountainside gleamed with light. Smoke poured out of the chimeney of the little shack that housed the sleeping orc and his dog, but a shadow now loomed over the mountain. Birds took flight, scared by something they could not see. The deer fled, and the mice scurried out of their holes and caves, for only the animals knew... It was no longer safe underground.

Just then, Barbas woke up.


	3. Chapter 3: The Town

Something evil was happening, and Barbas could feel it. After serving Clavicus Vile for half an eternity, Barbas could smell evil from a mile away. He woke up before his master, and walked over the the little wooden dog door Gruickshak had made for him. Unfortunately, Gruickshak didn't exactly understand the concept of hinges, so the dog door was more of a panel that Barbas would push out and Gruickshak would have to put back in later. Barbas tunneled through the snow until he was standing up on a rock, admiring the view from on top of the mountain. Behind him, he could see more mountains, which stretched all the way into the Eastmarch. To his left was some snowy land and then more smaller mountains. To his right was Morrowind, the province that he had heard many stories of as he slept outside taverns and markets, but he had never been there himself. Maybe someday Gruickshak would take him to Morrowind on an adventure someday. Maybe, after a century has past and Gruickshak is no more, Barbas might go to Morrowind himself or with a new companion. Ahead of Barbas, directly opposite of the cabin, was the Town. Barbas and Gruickshak would travel down to the Town every week to buy... Well nothing, really. Gruickshak chopped his own wood, made his own clothes, hunted his own food and foraged for his own water. Gruickshak would just go down to visit. Well, there was that one time he bought a single corn seed. The sight of a friendly orc would often confuse and sometimes intimidate the people in the Town. Gruickshak once got punched in the nose after asking someone "Does that food taste good?" Needless to say, that man can't taste much anymore. Yes, underneath that friendly and carefree personality, Gruickshak was still an orc. He wasn't nearly as intelligent as his brother Gretkar was, so he could rarely win an argument. However, challenge him to a boxing match, and you'd be lucky if your spine was still intact. Gruickshak was also relatively quick to anger about certain subjects. He would not tolerate being called dumb, as his brother told him "No matter what anybody says, you're a genius." He was also especially defensive about the battle axe he carried around. If you admired it, touched it, even looked at it too long, Gruickshak would chase you until he caught you or your feet bled. The bleeding usually happened no matter what. Although Gruickshak didn't understand why, that axe was very important to his brother, and Gretkar was very smart, so the axe must have been very valuable. When Gretkar died, Gruickshak considered destroying it, throwing it away in a lake or off a cliff, but he decided against it. Gruickshak also remembered that Gretkar had given it a name, or rather, the axe had told Gretkar it's name. _Brekyeir. _However, Gruickshak couldn't pronounce that, so he just called it Breaky. Seemed fitting enough for an indestructible battleaxe.

Barbas looked over the Town, wondering if there were any dogs down there that new about what was going to happen. All of a sudden, Barbas felt a wave of mental energy rush through his mind. He knew exactly what was going to happen now, and he knew that he had to stop it. He knew there was an organization down in the Town, a group of thieves, who had the artifact that was necessary to stop the impending doom. Barbas rushed back to the cabin. He had to wake his master immediately.

A carriage rolled up to the gates of Riften leading out of the city. Two guards were stationed there, and began to inspect to carriage. It was a carriage from the Khajiit merchant caravans. Esenado and his wife Senesita sat at the front while the guards searched through their goods, looking in piles of carpets and barrels of spice. They arrived at one barrel that stank of seafood. One guard stumbled backwards coughing while the other turned away in disgust and they both left the cart. "You're good to go," one guard said. "Just get your fish out of here!" the other shouted. As the gates opened and the cart rolled out of the city, Sudeiros took a deep inhale of relief, then immediately regretted it when he realized he was sitting in a barrel full of fish.


	4. Chapter 4: Thieves don't sleep at night

Night fell once again on the Rift, Gruickshak broke his bed again, and they went to sleep. But this time, just as Gruickshak dozed off, Barbas woke up. He quietly walked over to the door, nudged out the dog door, then using his nose and his paws, very quietly pushed it back into place. He ran out into the freezing night, across the mountain their cabin was built on and down the "road" Gruickshak had made with dirt. Barbas had an excellent sense of direction. After spending literally forever roaming Skyrim, he was able to recognize landmarks, from a deformed tree to a tuft of grass with two flowers growing in it, one bright red and the other dark red. He made his way to the base of the mountain and down the real road towards the crossroads with the sign that said "Riften" and pointed to the south. He continued down this road for about an hour when he reached the Town. Barbas hated this town so much. It smelled like crime, lies and treachery. Once again, after serving the Daedric master of Insidious wishes, Barbas was pretty good at smelling those too. The main gate was closed, and the guards weren't going to open them for a dog, but Barbas knew another way around. He hated this part the most. The Town was built next to a lake, Lake Honrich, and the only other way into the Town was by swimming in. Barbas leaped into the freezing cold waters, and frantically swam his way over to a small boat that was tied to a dock. He hopped in, shook himself dry, and using his teeth, untied the rope that held the boat to the dock. The current guided the boat to the series of docks and bridges behind the city, and whenever the boat would go off course, Barbas was able to move the rudder with his teeth. The boat glided over into the docks and Barbas retied it to a post, something he found much more difficult to do with his teeth than untying it. He hopped up onto the docks and snuck into the city. The city was dead at night, aside from a few guards patrolling the main square. The thing that troubled Barbas the most about this city was that it seemed quiet and empty at night, but this city was run by criminals, and criminals work best in the shadows, so he had this uneasy feeling that he was being watched. But then he realized that he was a dog and that nobody would suspect a thing. Barbas climbed down the wooden stairs to the canal area, where wooden sidewalks led to small holes that some considered home built into the walls. It was a times like these when he wished he didn't have a heightened sense of smell. He wouldn't drink from this water if his life depended on it, and he was a dog. He wondered how many bodies there were at the bottom of this canal with rocks tied to their ankles or cement formed around their arms. He made his way across the bridge and over to a door with a symbol of a diamond with a circle in the middle carved into the door. He nudged the door open, and walked in. This place, the Ratway as they called it, disgusted him. Barbas walked through the tunnels, past the drunks passed out in the dirt cuddling with their skooma, past the psychotic chef, past the piles and piles of bones of the sad, miserable people who inhabited this dungeon many years ago. He finally made it to the door that led to the Ragged Flagon, probably his least favorite place in the world. He pushed the door open (he was thankful that he hand't yet encountered any pull doors) and stepped into the sewage hole that was the secret base for Riften's Thieves guild. A young Nord sat at the bar, pouring some toxic mixture into a mug, then taking a sip. He had long, dirty blonde hair and a scraggly half-beard to complete the look. He saw the door open, but couldn't see past the bar to the dog standing on the floor. Either that or he was too drunk. He put the drink down and walked around the bar to shut the door. He pushed it shut, and turned around when he heard a familiar voice.

"Hello Vekel." Barbas said. Vekel jumped from surprise and turned to see the dog looking up at him. "Oh Barbas, It's you!" Vekel squatted down and pet the dog on the head. "Don't do that. I hate it when people do that." Barbas said. Vekel retracted his hand akwardly and stood back up. "What can I do ya for?" He asked, getting back behind the bar. "I don't want a drink, so I doubt you'll be of much use." Barbas said, walking into the tavern and hopping on a chair. Vekel laughed. "I'm hurt." he said jokingly. "Are you looking for Brynjolf?" he said, downing the rest of his poison. "No, actually, I want to speak to Mercer." Vekel shifted uncomfortably. "Uh, Mercer is no longer Guildmaster. It's Brynjolf now." Barbas was surprised by this. "What happened to Mercer?" he asked. "He's dead." Vekel replied. "Well, I'm terribly sorry to hear that." Barbas said. "I'm not." Vekel muttered under his breath. "I'll speak to Brynjolf then." Barbas said. Vekel nodded and brought Barbas through another door (this one was a pull door) into the Cistern. As Barbas expected, everybody was awake. _Thieves don't sleep at night, _Barbas thought to himself. He saw the whole gang there, Etienne and Rune were practicing their lockpicking, Dirge was wailing on a bag of straw, Vipir and Niruin were practicing their archery and Brynjolf was seated at Mercer's old desk, writing on a piece of parchment. Barbas nodded to Vekel and he nodded back, then returned to his post at the Flagon. Barbas walked past the other members of the guild who greeted him as he passed, and he made his way over to Brynjolf. "Barbas!" Brynjolf said, standing up from his seat and walking out in front of the desk. Brynjolf knelt down and patted Barbas on the head. "Don't do that. I hate it when people do that." Brynjolf stood back up and smiled. "A pet peeve?" Brynjolf said, chuckling. Barbas was unamused. "I need the key." Barbas said. Brynjolf raised an eyebrow. "The skeleton key?" he said. "Why?" "What else would I need a skeleton key for? To open a door without the key." Barbas replied. "I don't think you really need the key for that, I'll just get one of my men to pick it for you." Brynjolf said. Barbas was getting impatient now. "Brynjolf, what happened to the key?" Brynjolf sat back down in his chair, running his hand through his greasy red hair. "The key was...stolen." Barbas woofed in amusement. "The thieves guild was robbed!" he said. "I'll be laughing about this until I die, which is...never." Brynjolf did not partake in the joke this time, but continued. "It was stolen by a Cathay-Raht Khajiit. We combed the entire city for him, he must have escaped." Barbas was no longer amused. "Is anyone looking for him?" Barbas asked. "I have Sapphire and Karliah looking for him as we speak. Sapphire was there when it was stolen, she'll recognize him as soon as she sees him." Brynjolf said. Barbas saw the faint light of dawn break in through the ceiling light. He knew he had to return to Gruickshak, but he also had to find the key. Without saying a word, he turned around and trotted out of the cistern, after asking Vipir to open the door for him.

"The finest silk from Elsweyr, I guarantee you." Esenado told a Redguard traveler who was looking through his wares. Sudeiro had made camp with the Khajiit merchants just outside of Riften, far enough away that the guards wouldn't find him. They were also relatively close to Fort Anseway, the Imperial fort positioned outside Riften. Sud kney that the guards wouldn't dare come this close to an Imperial fort. He sat in the mammoth skin tent, turning over the key in his hands. He didn't know what it was, but he had an uneasy feeling about the key. He wondered if it was worth keeping, or if he should get rid of it before the thieves guild came and forcefully took it from him. But he realized that the guild would kill him anyways, whether he had the key or not. So for now, he just pocketed it, cleared his mind and helped the merchants sell their garbage.

In the dungeons of Fort Anseway, a Nord lay on the cold stone floor. A pool of blood surrounded him, coming from the gashes on his back. A man dressed in red Imperial armour squatted down next to him. In one hand, the man held a tool with a sharp curved blade on one end and a hook on the other. His other hand was coated in crimson blood.

"Do you see this?" he said, sadistically. "This is a new toy I was sent from Solitude. I was really looking forward to talking with you today because I wanted to try it out. Get a feel for it...but, I'm a patient fellow, so how about we make a deal. You tell me where all the weapons from Riften are being sent to. A Stormcloak camp, perhaps? Where is it?" He leaned in closer. "You tell me where your friends are and I won't use this." The Nord coughed up blood. "Dericus..." he whispered. "I'm going to Sovngarde eventually. I can't feel pain anymore because my body is already dead, and once my spirit gives up, then I will be free, and you will have lost." Captain Dericus smiled.

"We'll see about that."


	5. Chapter 5: Battle

Imperial Captain Dericus stood with his commanders looking over the map of the Rift he had lain on the table. Blue and Red banners were marked in different locations on the map to show which armies controlled which forts and cities, while smaller markers showed which armies had camps where. What troubled Dericus was that there was a Stormcloak camp in the Rift meant to be a backup if Riften were attacked, but this camp kept moving, and Dericus could never find it. Dericus had lead countless armies into battle, and had always suceeded, so his inability to find one camp was making him very upset. Everytime he sent out scouts, they would come back empty handed or impaled on a stake, and this infuraited him even more. How dare these Nords taunt him like this? If they thought they were intimidating him, they were sorely mistaken. Dericus had fought Nords before, and he knew they were not the seven foot tall axe wielding barbarians the soldiers said they were. They were barbarians sure, but only a few were actually over six feet.

"Captain Dericus." he heard someone say at the door. "Smoke was sighted in the mountains south of Riften. When we got closer we saw their blue banners and Imperial hostages." Dericus grinned, not looking up from the table. He picked up a small blue token and placed it on the map where the mountains were.

"I've got you now, you bastards..."

Gruickshak stared with a puzzled expression on his face at the frozen ground where he had planted his corn seed. "I still don't get it." he said to himself. He went back into the house to warm up and Barney still hadn't returned. When Gruickshak had woken up, Barney was missing and his dog door was open. He hoped that Barney was all right, the mountains in Skyrim were known for being unforgiving. But Barney was a smart dog, and Gruickshak trusted him. As Gruickshak sat down in front of the fire, he heard the tapping of paws on wood and spun around to see Barney standing there, looking at him. "Barney!" Gruickshak exclaimed. "You're back! Do you want something to eat?" he asked, holding up a chunk of mammoth meat. Barney uncharacteristically did not take the meat, but instead ran back out the door and began barking frantically. Gruickshak leaped to his feet and ran out the door as his dog ran down the windy mountain. "Where are you going?" he shouted after Barney. He heard someone shout in response, and he wasn't sure if it was the wind or an echo, but Gruickshak could have sworn he heard someone say "Follow me!" Gruickshak thought about going to get his coat, but as he saw Barney dissapear into the snow storm, he grabbed Breaky and rushed out of the house. He could see Barney in the distance, behind a curtain of flying snow, darting down the mountainside, over rocks, through frozen creeks. Gruickshak tried to keep up, but sleet was blinding, and he was beginning to lose his balance. His left foot landed on a patch of ice and his right jammed its toe into a rock, sending Gruickshak tumbling head over heels down the mountain. He fell out of control of himself, and his enormous body slid, tumbled and bounced down the mountain, slamming into rocks, trees and whatever else was in the way. He reached the base of the mountain, rolled onto his back and looked up towards the snowstorm that had now completely hidden the mountain behind a curtain of white. He shouted for Barney but his voice could not be heard over the whipping winds. It was then when he noticed something sliding down the hill. At first he thought it was a sled or a boat coming down the mountain, but when it landed at his feet, he realized that it was the door to his own home. After a few minutes, the rest of the house came crashing down the mountain, splintering and shattering against the rocks. Gruickshak knelt down next to the door and bellowed in fury, fury towards the weather, towards the snow, towards the cold. He slammed his fists into the door until broken pieces of wood cut his hands, and he began weeping for Barney. He thought there was no way the dog could have made it down the mountain alive. But then he heard it again: "Follow me!" It was coming from behind him, down the road towards the Town. He began chasing the sound, through the snow, through the forest across the froxen river until he saw the small dog sitting on top of a rock. Overjoyed, Gruickshak rushed to see him, but as he started running, Barney turned around and dissapeared behind the rock. The snow storm was beginning to die down now, and Gruickshak was regaining his ability to see, although his body was bruised all over from having fallen off a mountain. And he was cold. Very cold.

Gruickshak kept running in the direction he saw Barney go, until he saw a small tent with a horse and carriage parked outside of it. He rushed over to it, hoping that maybe whoever was inside had seen Barney. He reached the tent and heard hissing and shouting inside. He opened the flap to see three Khajiit perched on top of tables, hissing and yelling at Barney while he barked at them and bore his fangs.

"Is this your dog?" One of the Khajiit, an older cat, shouted at him. "Yes, it is." Gruickshak replied. "Barney, get over here." But Barney did not move. He stood there staring at one Khajiit in particular, the younger out of the three, who was standing on top of a table, his tail flicking violently. "Barney, c'mon." Gruickshak pleaded, but Barney would still not move.

"Give me the key!" Barney shouted. The entire tent fell silent with these words, as they all looked with amazement towards the dog that just spoke. "You have the skeleton key, I saw it! Give it to me!" The Khajiit looked stunned at this accusation. " I don't need to give anything to you, you're a dog!" he hissed. "Orc! Get your talking mutt out of here!" Gruickshak stared at the cat, his nostrils flaring. He stamped his foot as he bellowed "You don't call Barney a MUTT!" he charge in towards to Khajiit, who leapt up and over the brute, kicking him in the back and sending him sprawling into a barrel, craking it in half. Spice powder flew exploded in the tent, causing everybody to start sneezing a coughing uncontrollably. The Khajiit fled from the tent into the cold morning, racing down the road towards the forest. Barney gave chase after it, howling and shouting "Give me the key!" Gruickshak picked the powder out of his nose and ran after them, he strong, bruised legs sending him racing like a horse. His heavy battleaxe was still strapped to his back, but t didn't seem to slow him down any. He caught up to and past Barney and was now within touching distance of the Khajiit. The Khajiit swerved out of the way of a large rock and Gruickshak ran up and over the rock, now in the air above the cat. He pulled his fist up and slammed it back down on the back of the Khajiits head, which went face first into an ice puddle. Barney caught up to them and started sniffing around the Khajiits unconscious body, and began rifling through pockets and pouches, searching for something. "Help me find the key!" Barney commanded the orc. Gruickshak rolled the cat over and started searching through his clothes. He had a little bit of gold in his pockets but other than that there was nothing, no key. Then Gruickshak walked over to the other side of the Khajiit and grabbed his closed fist. He gently pried its fingers open to reveal a blue, intricately decorated key resting on the Khajiits furry palm. "That's it!" Barney shouted. "Take the key!" Gruickshak took the key and pocketed it as Barney sniffed the strong smelling spice still in the Khajiits fur. "Gruickshak, do you remember the cave at the base of the mountain, the one where you punched that bear?" Barney asked him Gruickshak remembered that day. They had been coming back from the Town and they stopped to rest and eat in a cave when a large brown bear returned from its hunt and Gruickshak killed it in a single puch to the jugular. Gruickshak was very good at controlling the force of his punches, for instance, when he hit the Khajiit he used just enough force to knock it out but not kill it.

"We have to take that key to the cave, okay?" Barney said as he headed towards it. "I'll explain later. Bring the cat!" Gruickshak stood there looking very confused and out of breath as the talking dog trotted away again.

"Hang on," he shouted after Barney "You can talk?"

Night fell once again, as it always does, and Dericus' forces made there way up the southern mountain towards the Stormcloak camp. Dericus had ordered five hundred men commanded by Commander Rickus to go invade Riften while he took another five hundred to destroy the Stormcloaks. He didn't want to split his forces, but he had to keep both Riften and the Stormcloaks occupied at the same time other wise one would come to back up the other and out number the Imperials. The red clad soldiers marched their way up the mountain, in formation with the shield bearers in the front, the infantry behind them and the archers at the rear. Dericus rode in front of them on a great black stallion. As soon as the Stormcloak camp was in sight, Dericus ordered his mean to break formation and surround the camp before they were noticed. He predicted there would be about three hundred Stormcloaks at the camp, at maximum. Suddenly, a warning horn was sounded and he knew they were spotted. He rode up the mountain, shouting battle cries as his troops advanced. The archers peppered the camp with flaming arrows, setting their tents and structures ablaze. The flames startled the horses which panicked and fled in every direction. Dericus rode up into the camp and began cutting down the charging Nords who desperately defended themselves. The foot soldiers reached the camp and the battle began. These expertly trained Imperial soldiers easily cut through the barbaric Nords who charged blindly waving their swords and axes. Dericus spotted their commander, a hulking bear of a man who was butchering some Imperials with a great sword. Dericus rode towards him, and had his horse run circles around him, so that he wouldn't know where to strike, and just when the commander thought he had a hit, he felt a sharp steel slice through his neck, and his massive head toppled to the ground, staining the snow red. Dericus watched from horseback as the Stormcloaks were decimated by his forces. Dericus' expert tactics had served him once again.

The battle was over, the Imperials winning by a landslide. They took no prisioners, and burned the bodies unceremoniously on a pyre. Dericus formed up his troops and counted them. He had lost fifty men... A necessary loss.

"Fire!" he heard someone shout. "There's fire in Riften!" Dericus looked across the mountain and saw that there was indeed a column of black smoke rising from the city. But then he heard the horn, a low drone that escalated into a majestic, proud tone.

The Stormcloak victory horn.


	6. Chapter 6: Drakudiir

When Sudeiros awoke, everything was dark. This was it. The thieves guild had caught him and now he was going to die. He knew how the guild operated, and he knew that no amount of begging or offers was going to save his light. The cloth that covered his eyes was finally removed, and he realized he was in a cave. The orc had just removed the blindfold and the dog was sniffing about the cave. Suds head throbbed violently, and red and yellow spots danced across his vision. That orc had hit him really hard. He looked for an escape route, but they were so far into a complex system of natural tunnels he couldn't tell which way was out. The only light came from glowmoss growing on the ceiling, and it made it very hard to see, even with his cat vision.

"Are you going to kill me?" Sudeiros asked. "Kill you? No," the dog replied, still sniffing around the cave. "We're not murderers. Actually, I don't know about Gruickshak, but at least I'm not a murderer." Sud looked up at the orc who gave a big toothy grin. It was then when Sud realized he wasn't bound. "Are you with the thieves guild?" He asked. The dog trotted over to the Khajiit who sat dazed on the floor and looked him in the eyes. "Do I look like a thief?" The dog continued searching the cave. "If you're not with the thieves guild, then who are you?" Sud asked. "Of course, where are my manners." the dog replied "My name is Barbas, and this is Gruickshak. He's an aspiring farmer and I'm his dog." "A dog who talks?" Sud questioned. "Ah, yes. The mammoth in the room. I suppose I should explain to both of you. I've brought you both here because something big is going to happen soon, a catastrophe, an apocalypse." Sud looked over at Gruickshak, who seemed to be just as confused as he was. "Do you remember the dragon Alduin? The harbinger of the end times? The god dragon who was defeated by the Dovahkiin?" Sud nodded his head, but Gruickshak still looked as confused as ever. "Well, he wasn't the worst of our problems. Another dragon, Drakudiir lives in under this mountain, but he was seriously wounded many ages ago, and many of his bones were taken and crafted into weapons, tools andj armour. He has spent centuries trying to recover, and just recently I, and other animals, have felt that he is close to regaining enough energy to emerge. And once he does, he will stop at nothing to find his missing bones, and when he has those, there will literally be no stopping him. He will destroy every man, animal, child and even other dragons until there is nothing left on this world but him and our ashes. Now, I don't know why he was able to recover so quickly. His wounds were grave enough that it should have taken him many more centuries before he was even half recovered. Someone or _something _is helping him, and I need help to stop them. An army won't work, this provinces government has their heads so far up their arses and are too busy with the civil war to do anything about it, and it's not like they would take any advice from a dog anyways. So I need you Gruickshak, to defeat whatever is healing that dragon, and I need you, Khajiit, to use that key you have to unlock the door to his resting place. I think I will be unable to help you for much longer, so you must be ready to do this by yourself." Gruickshak looked upset. "Why won't you be able to help us Barney, er uh, Barbas?" Barbas' ears drooped. "This cave is guarded by a Daedric Prince, Clavicus Vile. Many years ago, I was a servant to Clavicus Vile, a slave. Then one day, I was able to escape, but it cost me, and needless to say, Clavicus Vile was not pleased. I don't think he will let me through the gates...which I still need to find" he trailed off as he continued sniffing the cave.

Sudeiros reached for his sword but then realized that it was now hanging from the orcs belt. The dog was further into the cave now, and Gruickshak was still trying to understand everything that was just explained, so Sud seized the opportunity. He lunged forward and snatched his sword from the orc, drawing it and leaping towards the dog. With one hand he grabbed Barbas' belly and held him up in the air, holding his sword to Barbas' throat. Gruickshak growled and pulled Breaky from his back when Sud hissed "Move and I cut his throat." Gruickshak took a step back and Barbas managed to spin around and bite the cat on the hand, who dropped him and stumbled backwards. Barbas ran over to Gruickshaks side and shouted "You fool! Did you not hear me! If you do not help, this will be the end of life, in Skyrim...and all of Tamriel! And yes, that includes your own people in Elsweyr." Sud frowned, scrunched his eyebrows in thought, and then threw his sword to the ground.

Gruickshak chuckled. "Good kitty..."

Commander Dericus walked down the hallway towards the room where Commander Rickus was waiting. He walked in and saw Rickus sitting in a small wooden chair across from a similar chair. Rickus wasn't wearing the usual Imperial Commander armour, but was instead garbed in loose trousers and a blood stained tunic. Dericus sat down across from him, looking at the pathetic man that sat in front of him.

"Tell me what happened." Dericus said.

"I split my forces in half." Rickus whimpered. "One half went to the north side of the city while the other half attacked the east gate. The ones on the north were prepared to climb the walls while the others had a ram to break down the gate." Rickus wiped a tear from his dirt stained face. "Instead of defendng both sides, the Stormcloaks first wiped out the half climbing the wall, while the others broke in through the gate. They didn't get far before the guards massacred them." He lowered his head in shame. "If...if I had attacked with full force, we might not have been outnumbered... I'm... I'm sorry."

"What did you do before the war?" Dericus asked.

"I owned a store in Whiterun, with my wife."

"Would you like to go back to doing that?"

"More than anything, sir..."

Dericus drew a small Imperial crafted dagger and carefully handed to Rickus, who looked at it confused. Dericus stood up and left the room, locking it behind him.

"You know what to do..."


	7. Chapter 7: Goodnight Barbas

Captain Dericus paced angrily around his command tent. He wanted more than anything to gain control of Riften, but it was beginning to seem like that would be impossible. He had sent a courier with a request for reinforcements, but it would be at least a week before the courier reached Solitude, assuming he reached it at all with all the Stormcloak scouts out and about, and it would be much more than a week before reinforcements arrived. He stormed over to his war table and slammed his fist down angrily. He feld warm blood pool underneath his fist, and he looked down to that he had slammed his fist into the metal marker used to show where the Stormcloak camp was. He grabbed his bleeding hand and looked for a cloth to wrap it, then went to the door to see a medic about stitches. But before he walked out the door, he turned around and kicked hs war table over, sendig metal tokens flying all through out the tent.

This was the first wound he'd sustained since being deployed to the Rift. He was not going to let it go unpunished.

After many hours of sniffing around the cave, Barbas found what he was looking for. A small stone, with a draconic symbol scratched into it. "Here it is! I found it!" he called out. Gruickshak and Sudeiros ran over, but Gruickshak looked confused at the rock, saying "I don't see no gate."

"_Yah Drakudiir" _Barbas whispered into the stone. The carved symbol began to glow bright green, and the rock wall in front of them slowly dissapeared to show a large, golden gate, with the image of two dragons battling each other, and with the draconic inscriptions "_Drakudiir" _and _"Alduin_" underneath them. In the middle of the two doors was an enormous lock, with a keyhole so large that Gruickshak could have fit his fist in. "Oh, I see it now..." Gruickshak said. "Unless you have a key that big my friend, I don't think you're getting in there." Sudeiros said. Barbas looked at his and grinned, as much as a dogs lips would allow. "We don't need the key." Gruickshak reached into his pocket and drew the key that Sudeiros had stolen from the thief in the Keep. Sud checked his own pockets, realizing that that was in fact the key. Gruickshak handed the mystical key to Sud, who walked over the door, slipped the key into the lock, and watched it slide in and dissapear. Suddenly, the whole cave shook, and Sudeiros stumbled back from the gate. Barbas seemed worried now, and he backed away from the gate as well.

"Good day Barbas!" a voice said, seemingly coming from nowhere. "I've missed you!"

"Clavicus Vile..." Barbas growled. "Let us through the gate!" he shouted.

"Now now..." Clavicus Vile continued "Once you're a Daedric Prince, you may make up the rules. But for now, you're in my land. You listen to me." Sudeiros couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had heard of the Daedric Princes, otherworldly beings that were worshipped by the people of Skyrim, but Sud didn't think they actually existed, much less interacted with mortals.

"You ran away from me too many times Barbas. Do you know how lonely it gets, being the Prince of Insidious wishes? The other Daedra don't speak to me, and without my _loyal _pup by my side, I start to think I'm going _craaaaazy!_' The voice burst into a fit of maniacal laughter.

"I won't run away again, master!" Barbas howled. "Just let my companions through the gate!"

"Let's make a deal, you return to me, _forever_, and I'll return you to your normal form. How's that, Barbas?" Gruickshak looked confused at Barney. What was he talking about, "master", "normal form". Barney was his dog, HIS friend!

"No!" Gruickshak bellowed "You can't have him! Barney belongs to me!"

"Quiet fool!" Barbas shouted back "Let me handle this!" He looked back towards the gate. "I return to you, and you return me to my normal form and the Orc and the Kahjiit get through. Alright?"

There was an uncomfortable silence, which the voice then broke. "Hmmmmmmm... Alright Barbas. You win." Barbas smiled, as his body began to glow a brilliant golden light. Gruickshak began to move forward put Sudeiros held him back. The light grew and grew until it had completely enveloped Barbas. Slowly, the light began to dim, and it slowly retreated into the darkness. However, where barbas once stood, was a shaggy, naked old man crouched on the cave floor. Gruickshak felt a tear roll down his furry cheek, and he wiped it away. Gruickshak had never been good at saying goodbye. The man stood up and looked at his hands. He looked at his hands, at his feet and back to his hands. "Bless Clavicus Vile!" he shouted, still with Barbas' voice. "Bless Clavicus Vile, I have returned!" his shouts of praise echoed throughout the cave, and as they quietened, Clavicus Vile spoke once again.

"KIll him."

Barbas looked stunned at this. "Kill...me?" he stammered. "You want...them...to kill me?"

"Who else?" Clavicus Vile responded. "I'm just a disembodied voice in a cave! I sure as shit can't do it!" the maniacal laughter began again. "Either you die, or they go back the way they came. I'm sorry Barbas, but you get screwed either way. That's what happens when you run away too many times... You get put down."

Barbas looked at Gruickshak and Sudeiros. "You have to do it." he said "For the good of Skyrim, you have to do it." Sudeiros put his hand on Gruickshaks massve shoulder and looked at him in the eyes. "I'll do it. You look away."

Gruickshak shook his head. "No!" he shouted. "Barney, I want you to become a dog again and come live with me! I won't let him kill you!" Barbas laid his hand on Gruickshaks shoulder. "It's okay my friend. I have lived long enough, longer than any dog in Tamriel. I had some good adventures with you... I'll never forget you." Gruickshak nodded, tears now flowing openly from his eyes. Barbas and Sudeiros turned him around, and he leaned up against the rock wall, bawling. He jammed his fingers in his ears as Barbas knelt down, closed his eyes and waited. Sudeiros drew his sword, clutched it tight in his paws, and swung. As Barbas' human head fell to the stone floor, even Gruickshak couldn't escape the maniacal laughter that rang throughout the whole cave. The glowmoss dimmed at the force of the laughter, and Sudeiros thought his head was going to split. The gate clicked open, and as Sudeiros guided Gruickshak through, the disembodied voice of Clavicus Vile growled:

"_Goodnight Barbas..." _


	8. Chapter 8: Alok Drakudiir, kruziik dovah

The inside of the dungeon that Gruickshak and Sudeiros had just entered was better lit, with torches lining both walls every ten or so feet. The walls of this dungeon were made of stone slabs, covered with carvings of dragons, ancient nord warriors, giant battles and the gods of Tamriel. Gruickshak and Sudeiros weren't able to recognize any of the figures depicted in the carvings but were amazed by them all the same. The continued down the unnaturally clean hallway, trying not be distracted by the various jars and cases throughout the room. About fifteen minutes into the hallway, the pair began to hear a chanting in some other language, a language that neither of them understood:

"_Alok Drakudiir, kruziik dovah, du do lahvu, kriid do Junnesejer." _

The voices repeated this many times, their eerie voices resonating throughout the hallway. Sudeiros began walking more briskly now, until he found himself in a full on sprint down the hallway. Gruickshak lagged slightly behind him, but not by much. As the approached the end of the hallway, Sudeiros saw a gate, much like the one they had entered through. They reached the gate and he tried to open it, but it was locked. He looked for some way to pick or break the lock, but this seemed far too complicated and secure to be opened by a lock pick.

"Forget something?" they heard a familiar voice say. Sudeiros spun around, and so did Gruickshak, looking for where the voice came from. The hallway before and behind them was empty, put Sudeiros recognized the voice: Clavicus Vile.

"Hey look!" Gruickshak said, all of a sudden. He bent over to pick something up off the floor, and walked over to Sud. He opened his hand, and in his giant palm lay the blue dragon bone key, radiating with its sinister blue glow. Sudeiros took it and looked up at the ceiling.

"Don't look at me like that. I felt bad for the orc..." Clavicus Vile said.

Without a word, Sudeiros pushed the skeleton key into the gate and twisted it in the keyhole. The lock made a click and suddenly Sudeiros could hear gears turning inside gate. After about a minute of clicking and twisting, the gate popped open, and Sudeiros slipped in, motioning to Gruickshak to wait behind him. The room Sud had entered was enormous, twice the size of the castle and large enough to fill a mountain, which Sud supposed was the case. Massive ornately decorated pillars held up the ceiling, and stalactites the size of giants hung, defending the gargantuan beast that slept below them. A dragon, half flesh, half skeleton rested in the center of the room, recovering from horrific wounds. Gruickshak now snuck in, but clamped his hand over his mouth to stop himself from gasping. Four creatures then entered the room from smaller doors on the other walls of the room. Sudeiros couldn't quite tell if the were human, although they walked on two legs and wore long and decorated cloaks. Their faces were withered, the cheekbones stretching their leathery skin until it threatened to snap. Their eyes sunk into their skulls like a rock in a pond and their teeth were either rotten and green or nonexistent. They formed around the dragon, raised their hands in the air and started their chant."_Alok Drakudii, kruzik dovah."_ As they chanted, Sud could see the skin or the dragon growing, stretching over the bleached white bones, flesh retaking the area where it once was. Sudeiros looked at Gruickshak, who gave him a look of understanding back. They both knew that these were the ones who were healing the dragon, the ones they had to destroy. Sudeiros looked around the room for a wway to eliminate them without having to fight them all at once, maybe a balcony they could attack from, and a corner they could back on in to. Gruickshak had a much easier solution. He raised his battle axe over his head, gave a bloodcurdling warcry, and charged fearlessly towards their foes. _A little improvisaton never hurt anyone..._ Sud thought. He drew his sword and ran after Gruickshak. Gruickshak had taken on two of the cultists himself, swinging his battle axe in circles to keep his distance from them. The enemies had small but sharp daggers in one hand, and a glwoing ball of energy in the other. One of the ones fighting Gruickshak raised its arm and a ball of red hot fire shot out, enveloping Gruickshaks back in fire. He bellowed in pain and swung his battle axe around, hitting the cultists in the chest and sending it sprawling across the polished stone floor. Sudeiros saw the opportunity and ran towards the creature sprawled out on the floor, his cat legs and a surge of adrenaline pushing him forwards. He jumped onto the creatures chest, its blue blood spraying up from its chest wound onto his legs. He plunged his sword into the cultists throat, twisting it until the whithering monsters head popped off, dark, coagulated blood oozing out. Gruickshak had engaged the other cultist as it zapped bolts of lightning towards him, the energy singing the hairs on his chin. He swung his axe into the creatures arm, lopping it off and digging his blade into the cultists side. It seemed unphased by its loss of a limb and simpy raised its other hand to send more lightning towards Gruickshak. Gruickshak spun a full rotation, his arms outstretched with his axe tight in his axe, plunging it into the cultists other side. His axe dug into its spine and the creature twisted and writhed until its spine fell apart and the cultists fell in half. Sudeiros began fighting another cultists with his sword against its dagger, which was hardly enough to counter Sudeiros' superior swordplay. Sud wrapped his blade around the cultists arm and wrenched the dagger out of its hand, then landed his foot on the creatures chest and knocked it back. A strange swirling mist formed in its hand, and it outstretched its arm, sending the mist spilling over Sudeiros' head. He suddenly began to see visions as his view became clouded. He saw a jungle, lush and beautiful, growing from the sand. Suddenly, this vision was replaced by the same jungle, burning to ash before his very eyes. He then realized what this was: his home jungle in Elsweyr, burning to ash, as it did two years after he left it for Skyrim. He always regretted leaving Elsweyr, and he wished he could have gone home before it, and his family, were destroyed in the blaze that he now saw overwhelm his vision. But instead of succumbing to this illusion, he turned his sadness into anger. His heart pumped faster than it ever had before, and he now swung his sword hard, bringing his wrath down on the foe that stood before him, clouding his vision. As he felt his sword meet its mark over and over, his vision slowly returned, and when he could see clearly again, the cultist who had shown him that horrible vision lay in a bloody pulp on the floor. Sudeiros glanced over to see that Gruickshak was having some trouble with his new opponent. This last cultist stood a far distance from Gruickshak, pestering him with balls of fire. Sudeiros charged it, and it turned to face him, and began peppering him with the fre. Sud was much more agile than Gruickshak and was able to weave his way around the fire, dodging every missile as it exploded on the stone walls behind him. Now that the enemies attention was directed to the Khajiit, Gruickshak charged towards it, flailing his Breaky above his head. Sud expertly dodged the fireballs, except for one that flew a little too fast and took out his legs from underneath him. Sudeiros went tumbling head over heels into the hard floor underneath him. He leaped up and prepared to dodge the next missile, but it did not come. Instead, the creatures withered and rotting head rolled over to his feet, leaving a trail of blue blood leading to its corpse, which lay underneath the tired, and very burned, orc. Sudeiros and Gruickshak had but a moment to recover when they were disturbed by the one foe they had forgotten about.

"_Very impressive." _a booming voice echoed. "_You've defeated my dragon priests." _ the wurms massive head snaked around its body to face the two, its firery red eyes staring directly into theirs. Half its face was covered by red and blue scales which looked stronger than the most durable orc armour, and the other half of its face was nothing but bone. "_My recovery has been interrupted, by and Orc and a Khajiit, no less..." _the monster hissed. "_...but no matter. You two can do me no more trouble. It is now time for me to recover whats mine...my bones." _the dragons skeleton began to glow a dull blue as it rotated its massive body to face the wall opposite Sud and Gruickshak. With a brilliant blue ball of flame, the cave wall exploded, and the cool night Skyrim air rushed into the cave. "_Ah..." the creature whispered. "I feel young again."_ The dragon spread its wings, the bones cracking and popping after multiple centuries of rest. The glow from the lights in Riften was visible from the mountain and the dragon smiled.

_"Ah, Riften... The perfect place to start my search." _

As the beast took to the air and soared into the night, Gruickshak looked down at his battleaxe, which now glowed as blue as the bones in the dragons body...


	9. Chapter 9: Fire and Flesh

Captain Dericus was pacing about his room when he heard the deafening roar, followed by the shouts of his men. One of the patrol guards burst in through the door, gasping for air.

"What the hell was that?" Dericus shouted.

"Dragon..." the soldier replied. "The soldier slumped to the floor, exhausted.

Dericus stormed outside, where his men were frantically running around the fort, searching for bows and arrows. Commander Lecitus, the new commander, ran up to him.

"Sir," he began "a Dragon was seen burst out of the mountainside, not more than a minute ago. It flew over the forest and is headed south!"

Dericus walked up the wooden stairs to the top of the stone wall. Sure enough, an enormous winged beast was headed away from them, lighting the forest, and everything else below it ablaze.

"Sir," Lecitus continued "It's heading straight for..."

Dericus smiled and cut him off. "It's heading straight for Riften."

Gruickshak and Sudeiros rushed out of the cave, scanning the skies for the Dragon. It wasn't hard to find as the night sky was now brightly illuminated by the burning woods.

"Orc," Sudeiros said " Your axe, it's glowing like the Dragons bones were... Could it be possible that your axe could kill it?"

Gruickshak looked down at the glowing blue axe in his hands. He now understood the significance it had to his brother. This axe, _Brekyeir, _had called to the orc brothers for a reason. Visions and voices soared through Gruickshaks head. A ghostly voice called out to him.

"_Return me Gruickshak..." _it hissed. "_return me to my body." _Gruickshak looked up, the voices swimming out of his head.

"I'll return you all right." he growled. "I'll sink you right into it's head."

"It's burning everything..." Sudeiros said softly. The smell of burning pine wafted underneath his feline nose. He knew the smell of burning wood all to well. He looked at the dim glow of Riften, the rotting, criminal infested slum he had called home for the past six years, ever since his home forest was destroyed. "We'll never reach it in time."

The sound of the trotting of hooves echoed from the caves behind them. They turned around to see two steeds, large horses, pitch black fur with glowing red eyes and a black mist hovering around them. They stepped out of the cave and towards the two adventurers. The voice of Clavicus Vile appeared once again.

"_Last favor, I promise." _

Without hesation, Sudeiros nimbly swung himself onto the horses back and into riding position. "Get on!" he shouted to Gruickshak. Gruickshak looked confused at the horse bending its knee to him. "I've never ridden a horse before..." Gruickshak said. It was true, Gruickshak had always been too large to ride horses. He tried riding a mule when he was eight and he broke its back. As punishment, his father made him eat it. Gruickshak had never trusted horses since. But this one seemed different, stronger, mystical. Gruickshak shrugged and climbed on. The horses fur felt like mist, almost non existent. The horse held his weight without any sign of trouble. Sudeiros kicked the horses side and the horse galloped towards Riften, faster than any horse he had ever ridden. He didn't even have to steer the animal, it knew where to go. He saw the trees, rocks and houses blur past him. The wind whipped his fur, and he scrunched his eyes until he could only had a sliver of vision left. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the horse stopped running. Sudeiros opened his eyes, and before him was the gates of Riften. He looked back, and he could see the Dragon flying towards them. He looked down in amazement at the horse that had just outrun a flying Dragon. On the trail behind him, he saw glowing red eyes of the other horse as it dashed towards them. It came to a stop right next to them, but Gruickshak wasn't on it.

"I'm here!" Sudeiros heard Gruickshak bellow as he saw the orc sprint down the road. "I fell off." Sudeiros dismounted his horse and the two animals walked off into the darkness, until there was nothing left but the faint glow of their eyes, and then the blackness of the night. They were both suddenly knocked off their feet when a great shadow swept over them, its talons smashing into the stone wall above them, sending great stones tumbling towards them. The Dragon had landed in the city, and Gruickshak saw its scaly lips pull back into a sadistic smile.

"_You, Riften." _it said, its mighty voice deafening Sudeiros and Gruickshak. "_You burn first." _

The Riften guards rushed to walls and building roofs and began peppering the beast with arrows, which simply bounced off its skin. Its exposed bones glowed brightly, and Gruickshak could see the fire begin to appear in its belly. It started as a small flame, and slowly expanded until it was an enormous ball of burning light, flames flicking out of the undead Dragons exposed insides. With that, the Dragon let out a thunderous shout, or Thu'um.

"_YOL...TOOR...SHUL!" _

And with that, everything in the Dragons way, stone, wood or meat was suddenly set ablaze. Guards and citizens alike scrambled about the city, their clothes set on fire, their skin melting. "Get in the canal!" Sudeiros heard a guard shout. "Everyone get in the canal, quickly!" As dozens of people shoved, climbed and dove into the canal tunnels, the Dragon turned its massive body and poked its head into one the tunnel.

"_Nowhere..." _it hissed menacingly. "_You are safe nowhere!" _It shouted again and everyone who had taken refuge in the canal was destroyed. Charred bodies, some still living, fell into the murky waters, which were now layered by a thin coat of ash. Black smoke rose into the air, a thick pillar marking where Riften once stood. Sudeiros had now made his way into the city and was desperately trying to guide citizens to safety, but even the most optimistic of people would agree with the Dragon. Nowhere was safe. Sudeiros suddenly heard the high pitched screams of children. His heart fell when he saw the Honorhall orphanage, its windows shattered with the tiny hands of children reaching out of them, pleading for help. An old woman came running his way and threw herself on him. It was Grelod the Kind, a name the sadistic old witch had given herself when she had taken up the position of headmistress at the orphanage. "Help me please... She begged. I'm just an old woman." Sudeiros looked at her in disgust as he pushed her aside and began running towards the orphanage. He ran to one of the windows and began reaching through to the terrified children inside. "Come with me!" he shouted too them. One of the older children looked at him through the window. "Grelod told us not to trust cat people. She said you all work for demons." Sudeiros was apalled by this response. He growled and leaned in closer. "Listen here kid, its the cat or the Dragon. You pick." just then, Sudeiros felt something grab his finger. A tiny hand was wrapped around it, grabbing on for dear life. He looked down to see a small child reaching out through a hole in the wall, not quite big enough for him to fit through. The child looked at him with a mixed sense of trust and fear through his big, dark eyes. Sudeiros bent down and began pulling at the wood, trying to pry the planks away from the logs, fuelled by a new sense of urgency, one he had not felt for many years. He closed his eyes as he pulled at the wooden hole with all his might, memories flashing through his mind. He could feel the fire, feel the heat. He saw the jungle burn, trees the size of mountains toppling into the sand. And he saw his son...just a cub, with the same look of fear and trust, trust as his father told him "It's okay. You'll be fine. I promise." His muscles strained and the plank came tearing off the wall, sending him recoiling backwards into the street. He could see the children looking through the escape hole, the suddenly retreating back into the collapsing orphanage. Sudeiros swung his head around to see the Dragon moving forwards, crushing buildings underneath its weight. It perched on the keep like a decomposing crow as it opened its monstrous mouth, let the orange glow build, then unleashed the flame. Sudeiros cried out in pain, not for himself, but for the orphanage that was suddenly swallowed by the burst of flame. It went faster than a pile of leaves, wood burning like paper, shooting red hot sparks and dark smoke into the air. Suddenly everything was silent in Sudeiros' mind as he leaned up against a stone slab, watching the orphanage burn. As his hearing returned to him, he did not feel pity or sadness, but a new emotion, one he had not felt for a long time and one that he had hoped never to feel again.

For the first time in six years, Sudeiros felt hate.


	10. Chapter 10:Mah Drakudiir, kruziik dovah!

Ash, not snow, fell on Riften as the moon took its position in the sky. It shined bright and full as Riften burned to the ground, its conqueror now flying circles around it, raining down more dragonfire every time it opened it mouth. Sudeiros sat leaned up aganst a stone slab in the area that was once Riftens marketplace, his hands clasped tightly around his head, trying to push back the anger that swelled up inside of him. He hated that Dragon, he _hated _it. And he wanted it to die.

Gruickshak had by now climbed the city wall and up onto the roof of one of the few builldings still standing. He saw guards shielding citizens underneath broken carriages, in alley ways or underneath rubble. Any citizens who made it to the canal before the Dragon did had fled into the Ratway, now somewhat safe underground. Brekyeir glowed bright in his hand, and he heard the voices return. "_Return my bones to me orc and I will spare you." _he shook his head, trying to be rid of the voice, but it returned, bellowing with laughter. He hid behind a chimney and watched the winged demon circle the city. "_Where are you Gruickshak?" _he heard the voice whisper. "_Nowhere is safe..."_ Burning with anger, Gruickshak stood up from behind the chimney and raised the axe in the air, shouting out a roar of challenge to the Dragon. Gruickshak had never lost a one on one challenge before, and he wasn't about too. The Dragons head swiveled around to look at him, and the monster turned around in the air and began flying towards Gruickshak. It landed on the building across from him, crumbling the stone house under it. The half of its face that still had skin grinned, showing off its jagged teeth. "_You made the right decision Gruickshak." _it growled. Its bones began to glow even brighter than before, blinding Gruickshak. He held on to the axe tightly, but he felt it slipping from his grasp. He looked up to see parts of the axe dematerialising, little glowing blue wisps floating towards the Dragon who absorbed it, its long lost bones returning to its body. Gruickshak tried to pull away, but he felt his feet begin to slide across the shingled roof, tearing up the clay shingles as he did. "No!" he shouted. "You're not having it!" as if on cue, the roof below him gave way, and he fell through, crashing through the top floor and landing flat on his back on the concrete floor beneath him. Blood oozed out of his head, and before everything went black, he saw the Dragon snake its massive head through the hole in the ceiling.

The Dragons head now hovered above Gruickshaks body, its eyes flicking about the room. The orc had taken the axe when it fell through the ceiling, but where had the axe gone? Drakudiirs sadistic glee was beginning to develop into frustration. He had come so close, now where had the axe gone?

Sudeiros looked down at the glowing axe that now lay in his hands. He hid behind the charred counter of the tavern Gruickshak had just crashed into, and that the Dragon was now searching. Sudeiros had seen Gruickshak face the Dragon and almost lose the axe, so Sud got into the tavern and pulled the ceiling down from underneath him, giving him enough time to grab the axe as he fell. He hoped that Gruickshak would forgive him eventually. "_NOOO!" _The Dragon bellowed. "_WHERE IS IT?" _Sudeiros prepared himself as the axe began to get in his head. It whispered to him, the names of his children, the names of everyone he had ever lost. Sudeiros payed no attention to these voices. He was now working off his anger towards the Dragon, his pure, unclouded hate. Only a monster sent straight from the hells could take such enjoyment out of burning a city, innocent people, to the ground. Sudeiros let out a fearsome battle roar as he ran out from behind the counter, the axe that once weighed him down now weightless. He swung the axe behind him as he ran underneath the Dragons head, who now opened his mouth, ready to burn the fool who stole his bone from him. Now Sudeiros and the Dragon were thinking the same thing: "Die, DIE, _DIE!" _Sudeiros stood over Gruickshaks motionless body as he let all his anger loose and swung the bone axe towards the Dragons head, letting it go, launching it straight between the beasts eyes. Brekyeir sunk into Drakudiirs skull, bone splitting bone, digging in for the Dragons sick, twisted brain. Drakudiir screamed in pain and ripped his head out of the building, sending cobble and wood raining down from the sky. The Dragon let loose one last bolt of fire and it fell onto its back, desperately trying to fly into the air. It crashed down into the docks, crushing the little boats that bobbed in the water, and the Dragon toppled backwards into the lake, splashing water around it, dousing some of the nearby fires. The water began to turn a dark green as the Dragons blood leaked into it, and the mighty beast who had just moments before flew over the city burning everything beneath it, now lay still in the lake, never to move again. Smoke still billowed from the city, and the fires still raged, but the citizens and guards of Riften now emerged from their hiding places, anxious to see if the Dragon really was dead. And it was. Very dead.

When Gruickshak came to, he was lying on his back on the tavern floor, his axe, Brekyeir, laid on his chest. It was oddly moist, but he didn't pay any attention to that. The Khajiit sat on the counter across from him, tapping his tail on the wood.

"Wakey-wakey." Sudeiros said.

"The Dragon..." Gruickshak asked as he rose to his feet. "Where is it?"

"Dead." Sudeiros said, grinning. "You killed it."

Gruickshak stood up straight, grinning and brushing the dirt and ash off his clothes. "Really?" he asked. "Oh yeah, of course I did. I remember that. Then I took a nap."

Sudeiros smiled, put his arm around the orc and guided him out of the crumbling tavern. The smell of smoke and burning flesh was wafting throughout the city. It would be hard to rebuild this, but they could do it. The keep was still standing and people would be able to rest in there until they had their homes back. The next few years would be tough on the people of Riften, but Sudeiros knew they could pull together.

All of a sudden, a horn blew in the distance. The guards rushed up the rubble walls, armed with the little equipment that survived the attack. Gruickshak and Sudeiros ran to the gates and saw an army, about four hundred strong, dressed in the red Imperial armour. At their head, a man on a white horse began to speak.

"People of Riften!" he shouted. "You have just been attacked by a Dragon! Your city is destroyed, and your army is weakened! I am Captain Dericus, and if you do not surrender, we will attack!"

"Shove it up yer arse!" came a shout from the city walls. An old man stood there, his scrawny arm holding up a short iron sword. "We just KILLED a Dragon! We're not afraid of you!" The guards on the wall raised their weapons, cheering on the old man. Captain Dericus turned his horse around and trotted through his ranks, ordering his archers to prepare to fire. Men and women rushed to the city gates, armed with everything from swords and axes to big sticks. As one, they all cheered "Free Skyrim! Free Skyrim!" The captain of the guard walked out of the gates, drew his axe and pointed towards the Imperials. "FOR SKYRIM! FOR RIFTEN!"The people of Riften charged, shouting and cursing, yelling battle cries and waving their weapons.

Sudeiros lowered and shook his head. "Nords..." he said.


	11. Chapter 11: Of War and Corn

Captain Dericus smiled as the Nords from Riften charged his troops. He had hoped it would come to this. How he enjoyed seeing people die. He ordered his archers to draw, and they did, pulling the strings back. He waited until the charging horde was close enough, then ordered the archers to let loose. Hundreds of steel tipped arrows rose into the air, then came down on the front line of warriors. Arrows landed on guards and citizens alike, sending them into the muddy earth, either screaming in pain or completely silent. The front row of Imperials lowered their shields and held their swords over their shields. Suddenly, someone, or some_thing _came charging towards them. It outran all of the Nords and charged towards the Imperials, waving a blue axe made of bone above its head. It slammed into their shields, splitting them, crushing them, knocking the Imperials over into the dirt, crushing their skulls under its feet. It was an orc, and it had gone completely bezerk. Commander Dericus ordered his troops to focus the orc, he knew how dangerous orcs could be. The Imerials jabbed and stabbed at the orc, only to have their swords knocked aside by its enormous axe. The Nords slammed into the army of Imperials, and the battle had begun. Iron clashed with iron as the Nords axes crashed into the shields and helmets of the Imperial soldiers. Bodies from both sides fell to the ground, the blood being diluted by the mud. Sudeiros had now joined the battle, using his sword to swing underneath the Imperials rectangular shields to slice their legs, then plunging his sword into their neck as they fell. Arrows rained down on the Nords who toppled over dead, and Gruickshak hacked and slashed through their ranks towards the captain sitting on his horse. The path behind Gruickshak was littered with heads and limbs as he carved through, taking down every soldier that dared to touch him. Dericus drew his bow, and sent a flaming arrow up into the sky, which landed in a tree, slowly setting it ablaze. At this signal, more soldiers marched out of the burned treeline, firing their arrows into the crowd of frenzied Nords. Sudeiros examined the situation. They were outnumbered to begin with, but this was too much. He commanded a group of Nords to follow him, and the did so willingly, because the knew who killed the Dragon. He charged the second troop of Imperials and sighted their leader who was also riding a horse. Sudeiros tried to make his way to him, fighting through the army of soldiers, but halfway there, he saw a shadow appear behind the commander. A woman dressed in black came behind the commanders horse. Sudeiros recognized this woman all to well. The woman from the keep, who he had stolen the key from. The woman leaped up onto the horse and wrapped her dagger around the commanders neck. With a swift jerk, a thin red line appeared on the commanders neck, and he fell to the ground. Sudeiros looked back at the city. Dozens of archers now lined the wall, sniping the Imperials. Sud smiled. The Thieves Guild had joined the battle. The thieves shot at the Imperials with the shields, bringing them down so that the Nords could get past them and hack away at the lighter armoured soldiers. The soldiers from the second troop panicked, waiting for a command from their commander who was no longer in any shape to command. The Nords broke the second troop, slaughtering any soldiers that didn't retreat into the woods. Gruickshak had finally reached the back of the main troop and was attacked by two heavily armoured soldiers. For the first one, he dug one end of the axe into their back while bringing his knee into their face, making a very satisfying crunching noise. The second soldier shoved his sword into Gruickshaks back, cutting deep. Gruickshak hollered in pain and swung around, ripping the blade from the soldiers back and smashing his axe into their helmet. The armour protected the soldiers head, but didn't keep him from falling to the ground. Gruickshak swung his axe down and cleaved the soldiers head in two, then using his axe to fling the head at the captain on the horse. Captain Dericus rode towards Gruickshak, holding back his sword, waiting to strike. Gruickshak stood right in the path of the horse. He had put his axe on the ground and he waited, hands ready. As soon as the horse was upon him, he grabbed its leashed and yanked, getting a good hold the horse. He knelt down, and using all his might, pulled up and swung the horse over his head, sending the beast flying upside down. Captain Dericus flew off the horse as the horse crashed into a group of Imperial soldiers. He quickly scrambled to his feet and grabbed a sword from a fallen soldier. Mud was wiped across his face and a trickle of blood leaked from his lips. The orc had picked up his axe and was advancing slowly. Captain Dericus looked at his troops around him, retreating, dying, laying wounded. The Nords had done it again, even after their city was destroyed. Where had he gone wrong? The orc closed in on him, but before the orc could touch him, Captain Dericus did the only honourable thing he had ever done in his life. He knelt down into the dirt, shouted "For the glory of the Empire!" and fell on his own blade. He winced as the steel sunk into him, and his vision slowly turned red, then black. Gruickshak watched as the corpse of Captain Dericus twitched, spasmed then stayed completely still. He watched the Imperials retreat, routed by the hopeless folks who had just lost everything, everything but their freedom. They had won.

After the battle, Sudeiros left Riften before the Thieves Guild caught up to him. He left without a word to anyone, not even the orc. He didn't know where he would go, but he knew that he would never find an adventure like the one he had just had. For the first time in his life, Sudeiros was proud of himself, and he knew his children would be too.

Gruickshak also left shortly, and the people of Riften began rebuilding their homes. Gruickshak grabbed some scrap wood and some nails and wandered back up the mountain, grabbing pieces of his house as he climbed. When he reached the peak where his house had once stood, he gasped and dropped the wood and nails to the ground in shock. He couldn't believe his eyes.

Standing up, out of the snow, was a fully grown cornstalk.

The end of the Orc the Cat.

Be sure to watch out for the last story in the trilogy, the Orc and the War


End file.
